How to get Tropico running on non-standard monitors or resolutions

Tropico 4 will refuse to launch and will throw an error message if it can't create a DirectX window for the game in one of these resolutions: 1024x768, 1280x720, 1280x800. Your monitor MUST be in one of these resolutions (or support it in normal landscape mode) for the game to launch correctly.

I have an eyefinity setup of three portrait 1920x1080 monitors driven by two Radeon 6870's. My native resolution was 3240x1920, which the game just didn't know how to handle. What I did was 1) Disable the eyefinity group, and 2) rotate all the displays back to landscape. I then launched the game and changed it from a specific resolution to "Windowed" resolution (at the top of the resolution list). That will get the game to launch in any display config, no matter what.

After that, I re-rotated back to portrait, and re-enabled eyefinity to get my standard resolution and orientations back. Then I could launch the game, go to the resolution setting, and choose *ANY* resolution the video driver claimed was supported (up to and including 3240x1920). Tropico 4 is now happily running on a huge triple-portrait setup.

The bottom line to the fix is allowing the game to run in a default resolution one time, then changing it to run in windowed mode and exiting so it saves the setting. After that you can pick whatever resolution you want and it won't complain. The first time it is launched it won't query the video driver for compatable resolutions, but it will after being launched in Windowed mode.

1) Make sure your current default Windows monitor can display in one of these resolutions: 1024x768, 1280x720, 1280x800.

2) Launch Tropico 4 and get to the game's Option menu.

3) Change the current resolution to "Windowed". It will be at the top of the list of resolutions.

4) Save the options (the game should switch to windowed display) and then exit the game.

5) Change your monitor(s) back to whatever resolution and configuration you want.

6) Re-launch Tropico 4 and go back into the Options area for video settings.

7) Now the list of resolutions should be *any* your current monitor configuration can handle. Pick what you want and play.